Sen. Jim DeMint (R-SC) is publicly conceding that Republicans are losing the politics of the payroll tax cut battle and have found themselves in a no-win situation.
The staunch conservative’s remarkable admission comes by way of the New York Times:
But many Republicans seemed to fear that the battle had already been lost. Senator Jim DeMint, Republican of South Carolina, said the Republicans should never have accepted the payroll tax cut in 2010 when President Obama pushed it as a condition for extending President George W. Bush’s expiring tax cuts. “Now Republicans have our backs against the wall,” Mr. DeMint said. “We can’t win the argument. We’re going to have to go on to something else.”
The bipartisan, bicameral negotiations hit a wall this week.
(h/t Greg Sargent)
